The Lie-Eaters
Filed under: Mirecourt Fauna | Auditory Mimics | Hallucinogenic Creatures
Contributor: FDG Field Archivist No. 2
Last updated: May 2025
Overview
Though small and slow-moving, Whispergrubs are among the most psychologically destabilising entities in the Mirecourt. These pale, blind larvae do not bite, sting, or exude poison—instead, they speak.
Their mouths form no true language of their own, but rather echo the human lies they absorb from the environment—reliving them in a strange, looping chorus until a listener cracks under the weight of their own deception.
They are not predators.
They are not parasites.
They are mirrors, made of meat.
Appearance
- Length: 3 to 5 inches fully grown. Some older specimens reportedly reach the length of a forearm.
- Color: Silvery, almost pearlescent flesh—slick with a faint, sticky mucus.
- Body: Blunt at both ends. Each tip sports a tiny, black puckered mouth, constantly opening and closing.
- Eyes: None. Whispergrubs are completely blind.
- Movement: Slow and twitchy. Wriggle in synchronous waves when agitated, forming tight, shimmering piles in nesting moss.
Nests are often found in:
- moss beds atop old stone
- behind waterlogged bookshelves
- the underside of bridges
- forgotten grave plots
Behaviour and Abilities
- Vocal Mimicry of Lies:
Whispergrubs speak in mimicked human voices, often in fragments of past conversations. The tone, rhythm, and cadence of the voices are eerily precise, though often distorted with breathy urgency or whispering overtones.
Most commonly, they repeat:- confessions denied
- kind lies told to protect others
- false promises
- whispered secrets that should not have been shared
- Hallucinogenic Feedback:
Hearing a complete sentence spoken by a Whispergrub causes a brief but intense hallucination in the listener—specifically, a vivid loop of a recent lie they themselves told.
During the loop, the listener:- relives the moment
- sees themselves from outside the lie
- often sees the consequences that did not happen—but now feel real
- Psychic Nesting Grounds:
Whispergrubs are attracted to places steeped in emotional dishonesty:- ruins of affairs
- old courthouses
- crumbled altars
- places where secrets were buried (figuratively or literally)
Folklore and Signs
- “The Lie in the Moss”
A bog-folk saying: “Step too near a whisper nest and you’ll hear your own voice calling you a liar.”
Inhabitants of marsh-border towns often burn mossy tree hollows before weddings or funerals. - Moss Mumbles:
A tell-tale sign of Whispergrub activity is the sensation of voices murmuring beneath your feet while walking on damp moss. If you kneel and listen closely, you may hear yourself. - Looping Lullabies:
Children’s tales warn of Whispergrubs singing a single false phrase—often something a child once said to avoid punishment.
It’s believed that if a child responds to the phrase aloud, they will sleepwalk for nights afterward.
Effect on Earth and Human Minds
- Mild exposure causes:
- disorientation
- emotional guilt
- persistent feeling of being watched by one’s own thoughts
- Prolonged exposure can result in:
- compulsive truth-telling
- breakdown of memory integrity (difficulty distinguishing truth from fabrication)
- auditory hallucinations mimicking the grubs even after leaving the site
Note: Some operatives have reported that hearing their own voice spoken by a grub caused temporary dissociation, and a few entered fugue states where they compulsively re-enacted their past deceptions.
Summary for Field Operatives
| Trait | Detail |
|---|---|
| Threat Level | Low physical danger. High psychological contamination. |
| Signs of Presence | Murmuring moss, breathy speech patterns, reliving unspoken lies |
| Containment Risk | Moderate. Difficult to fully cleanse nests; emotional memory lingers. |
| Engagement Advice | Avoid lying before or during fieldwork in suspected Whispergrub zones. Wear sound-dampening protection. Do not respond to grubs speaking in known voices. Use written communication where possible. Burn moss-heavy garments after exposure. |
Quote from Field Report #088:
“I heard myself saying ‘I’ll be home soon.’ Except I was already gone when I said it. The whisper kept repeating it. Then it added, ‘But you won’t.’
I vomited on the moss and ran. I haven’t been able to say that sentence again.”
—FDG Audio Diary, Operative K., Whitethrush Hollow
Faylinn Defence Group 